Private Eyes
by S.carlett V.on U.ttenburg
Summary: The third book to the New Life Series.  Parenting and Detective work.  When the Welch's Grape Juice girl winds up dead, who connects the dots to her murder and how does the EO family get pulled into it's web?
1. Meets the eye

**AN: This is the third book to the New Life Series. So if you haven't read "New Life" or "Det. Benson Ties the Knot." you may not get all of the details. But it's not brain surgery people- so read it. You may just get hooked.**

**Meets the Eye**

Strands of flyaway hairs fell over her perfect brown eyes as the evening's spring breeze blew through the office windows.

Elliot went through the daily motions and watched her every facial tick, stroke of the hand, wipe of the brow, blink, sigh, stretch, scratch.

Ever since they'd gotten back from their honeymoon and into the swing of everyday life, Elliot found himself wondering what he did to deserve the best of both worlds.

He couldn't keep his mind or his hands off of her. The urges of never letting her go were too strong. Especially when the casework became too gruesome to bear.

Their latest call was the brutal murder of Shyann McClure, the famous fun loving Welch's Grape Juice girl.

The nanny found her molested and strangled in her bed. And if her death couldn't be any worse the press made it even less trouble-free.

Only twelve hours after they'd found the body and it was already turning into another Jon Bonnet Ramsey.

Even her parents were in on the media game.

Her mother, who was taken in for questioning, had still found the time to solicit her little girl's pictures for a whopping 3.5 mill.

And as of the moment, Donald McClure, the missing father, jumped around a full speed car chase and headed into hiding. He was armed, dangerous, and SVU's prime suspect.

The unit had helped Shyann before. They were close to the little girl and her abused body.

When they got the call a small guilty pain fell over each of them for not working faster.

That pain was like a black cloud in the room. Elliot was sure that Olivia would be the most upset.

He was expecting her to take on the case like a vengeful demon.

Yet, there in the midst of a horrific reality she sat like an intense angel.

Still working with a fire behind her belt, but with a calmness in her motions. Like she knew it would all work itself out.

And although, Elliot wanted to catch the piece of scum that would do such a terrible thing to his own daughter, he couldn't help but remain unfocused.

She _was_ an angel. She was his angel. And he divulged in needy thoughts of her.

On days like this every smile, every hair, each eyelash held his fantasy like a secret daydream.

She caught his gaze and stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled and she returned to business as usual.

From the desk to the window she starred heavily in a concentrative state.

A crew of twenty or so telephone operators endlessly answered phones on the fourth floor of the 1-6 precinct, as their voices muffled together with the sound of ringing and paper crumples.

Elliot ignored them all. He stayed in his thoughts while his switchboard blinked green and red. The rush of the group brought him in and out of the case and he tried to find the ambition to continue their search.

Cragen's had put Olivia, Munch, and Elliot on desk duty until the phones targeted a lead. He held his portable in one hand and clicked through the files with another. His busy unit could be heard from their desks.

"Special Victim's Unit, Detective Benson, how can I help you?"

"Ma'm can you describe the man? No. Ok call back when you find out. It's Detective Stabler."

Elliot tossed a wad of paper into the trash and yelled towards Don's office. "Cap, how much longer we on this?"

"Until you find me something or Fin bails your sorry ass's out."

"Thanks, Cap, I'll remember that the next time I make you coffee."

Elliot watched Olivia vigorously answer call after call. She caught him starring again through the corner of her eye and he threw her a subtle kiss with the tip of his finger.

She shook her head with a furrowed brow and shot a daggered stare at the blinking red lights on his phone.

Nothing was sexier to Elliot than her relentless shut downs during the course of the day.

It was like sitting behind the girl with pigtails. He knew it was wrong to pull them but his malicious restraint wouldn't allow it.

Slowly he spun around in his chair and made his way towards her side of the desks. He opened her top desk drawer and grazed his hand along the bottom of her breast.

"Why don't you explain the car---" Olivia stopped and brushed his hand away. "--if it matches the car we're looking for I'll provide you with further information," she continued as she turned away from him towards her computer.

She was becoming really good at ignoring him, which according to all of her married friends, was the first step to becoming a good wife.

Still on a day like today all she really wanted to do was give into his sexual advances and hump the sappy love smirk right off of his face.

He turned with her and wrapped his arms around her torso while he opened the top middle drawer.

As he shuffled through the pencils and random office junk he dropped an eraser into her lap.

She was deep into her phone conversation with one hand over her ear and her body hunched over in a desperate try to ignore Elliot's interruptions.

"Sir, was there anyone else with you when you saw the man?"

Elliot turned his back to the other people in the room and ran his hand down her side and into her lap.

" Are you sure the jacket had a RED stripe," she yelped, while jumping from his hand tickling her thighs.

She grabbed his hand and he slowly pulled his finger past her crotch.

Sharply she elbowed him and whispered through her teeth with one hand over the phone. "Elliot, cut it out."

He walked away smiling while he tossed the small eraser into the air.

Olivia hung up the phone and grabbed another eraser from the open top drawer. She threw the pink square of rubber at his head and picked up his phone holding it for him to take.

He pursed his baby face lips and grabbed the receiver from her angry hand.

"Stabler…. Ma'm I am not a spokesman for Welch's Grape juice. If you have no information on the-"

"Yes, the girls' name is Shyann McClure," Munch grumbled. "No sir, the girl is deceased, please take your neighbor's daughter back to her home."

Olivia answered another call and listened intently. After she got to the second question and the one-hundredth person to tell her about the missing Donald McClure she held the pressure points between her eyes and wrote sloppily onto a notepad. "What kind of car was he driving? That's not our guy."

Elliot threw his phone down and stood up erratically. "That's it. I'm done. I can't take listening to these moronic tards any longer. Who wants dinner? I'm buying."

"I'm in," Munch said with the phone to his ear ", yes, I'm listening," he quickly stated then acknowledged Elliot. "Anything with steak and grease."

Olivia placed her phone in its' cradle and stretched to a stand. "I need a break too."

Elliot looked at her with half tired, half playful eyes. "Mmm, I'll break you."

Munch cleared his throat and Elliot flinched. They both turned and headed for the doors. Elliot winked and rubbed the tip of her shoulder.

She gravely nudged him as they waited for the elevator. "Hey, you need to control your penis before I rip it off."

Elliot's pulse heated to a simmer as he took in a quick breath through his flared nostril.

" I don't know what you're talking about," he slyly grinned.

Olivia who was repeatedly pushing the elevator button stopped and slowly tilted her head. Pointedly she grabbed his crotch in the same fashion he'd grabbed hers earlier. "Does that spark you're memory?"

Elliot pulled away, out of unexpected surprise. "Don't even get me started woman, I'm already begging to be out of here and into you for the night."

Olivia smirked and spoke softly through the side of her mouth ", Well I could put you out of your misery and interrogate your ass."

Elliot stood next to her again. His shoulder touched hers and he growled back ", Detective, I'm innocent I swear."

Olivia smiled and scrunched her nose as she cutely replied ", my evidence says otherwise."

"Prove it. Take me in, Benson."

Olivia looked at him with a melted sultry face. " Lucky for you, my badge is aching to be used."

The elevators opened and a few administrations officers stood inside. Elliot pulled Olivia away from the doors and into the back hall. "You're bad."

"So cuff me why don't you?"

Elliot was already hard. He checked the hallway as Olivia lightly played with the curve of his tight ass and the beginning of his thigh.

"Broom closet," she whispered.

With a rush of adrenaline they headed for the closet. Once inside they stood in the small dark space and tore at each other in a rushed frenzy of touching and clothing removal.

"Elliot, my belt," Olivia moaned through Elliot's lips as he pulled at her black work pants.

"Ah, god, touch my balls again."

Olivia smiled and went for it. She must have left her angel in the office, because her hand was far too good at causing him dirty pleasure. He was like a raging animal. He held in the urge to touch her all day and the release of her soft skin touching him was enough to make him writhe inside.

Finally he got Olivia's pants off, but her shoes and the angle made easy access and penetration almost impossible.

Olivia grunted and tried furiously to undo her boots as she knocked over the janitor's buckets and mops.

"Come here," Elliot whispered.

He turned her around and bent her over.

Olivia let out a surprised gasp and held onto the wall.

The days of sweet lovemaking and gentlemen like positions were over. With one ruff dry push he was inside of her and pumping madly.

She was over come by painful pleasure. After the initial shock, she pushed back into him, as her mind grew cloudy from the intense enjoyment of it all.

His hands took hold of her hips. One hand traced her stomach and then her clit.

If she hadn't been in the broom closet she would have screamed with delight. Clenching her jaw she held in the sounds whimpering to fall past her vocal chords.

Elliot pumped faster. His body was on the tip of explosion. Olivia grabbed a hold of his hand and forced him to touch her again and again.

The feeling was right, the rhythm was on its' last few measures, and both of them simultaneously let go of their earthy positions to moan in a breathless sexual high.

Olivia held her head against the wall unable to move. She felt Elliot's body fall limp over her back. After a brief moment to gain their senses Elliot pulled Olivia into his arms and held her tightly.

"I love you."

"I love you," she smiled. "Let's eat."

SCENE

Munch jammed a dough nut into his mouth and picked up the phone once again, when Olivia and Elliot waltzed into the office beaming, refreshed, and accompanied by several bags of Indian food.

He dropped the phone and tore open the bag. "Where the hell have you two been? I'm starving."

"Calm down Chewbacca, we got you grease and steak wrapped in nahn curry goodness," Elliot said as he pulled his food from the bag.

"Ah, my favorite," Munch moaned. His physical pleasures were simple. Food and coffee were the highlights of his day.

Olivia laughed as he pulled out the tin container and struggled with the plastic lid.

"Munch, you really need to get a hobby."

"What? I needed sustenance."

"You need something," Elliot mocked as he licked the sauce from his finger.

Munch looked up at them and then remembered. "Oh, Liv call Maureen, she's freaking out about Ella."

Olivia dropped her spoon. "What do you mean freaking out?"

She grabbed the phone and called the house. "Maureen."

Elliot paused with concern as Olivia's face grew pale and limp.

"An ambulance! It's Ok. It's not your fault. Calm down. I'll meet you there."

Olivia dropped the phone and grabbed her purse. "Ella, just had a seizure. She's vomiting and…I don't know."

Without a second thought or start of a tear she ran for the elevator.

Elliot followed yelling towards Munch. "Call me if you need me."

**AN: Let me know if you're liking where this is going. It's pretty straight forward at the moment. R&R drop me your thoughts.**


	2. Take it Easy

**AN: I'm a writing fool today. Look out Scarlett has tap danc'n fingers! The story is simple at the moment, but I promise it will get twisty and juicy. Thanks for the R&R old chums! Keep it up and I'll keep on dish'n it out.**

**Take it Easy**

Maureen stood in the hallway of the waiting room crying and bouncing Benson on her hip.

A tall dark blonde guy with green eyes and wearing a stained Homer Simpson T-shirt leaned on the wall next to her with a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"What do you know? I just met you an hour ago," she cried with an almost angry and definitely hopeless set of eyes.

"You're right I'm just pulling shit out of my ass."

The young man walked away from her and paced the floor in a confused state.

Pasha Schumann was sent to the Stabler's apartment to deliver some pictures taken of them by his father, Rick Schumann.

If he had known that a hysterical cute blonde and a screaming feverish baby would greet him, he may not have gone.

Playing the hero wasn't exactly in his cards. He was lucky if he could tie his shoes let alone fix a sick baby.

Before he knew it he was waiting with Maureen for the paramedics, searching a stranger's house for a washcloth, and driving behind an ambulance with a random little boy buckled to his front seat.

His easy-quick-cash job was turning into a full time position without benefits. All in all he felt completely uncomfortable and helpless.

"Maureen," Olivia cried as she rounded the corner with Elliot in tow.

Maureen's eye swelled up. "Olivia, she's in intensive care."

"Where?"

"That way," she pointed.

Olivia pushed past and Elliot stopped briefly to hug Maureen. "It's ok."

"Daddy, I didn't know. I thought she just picked up a cold."

Elliot held Maureen and Benson as he wiped the hair from her wet red face. "Honey, I'm sure you did exactly what any of us would have done. Babies get sick."

"It happened so fast," Pasha said from the side.

"And you are," Elliot asked in his Dad tone.

Pasha hadn't realized that comment came out of his mouth, but now that Elliot Stabler's stone cold stare had given him attention he had no choice but to sway about nervously and hold out his hand. "Pasha Schumann. My dad took your wedding photos."

Elliot looked at him like he had five heads. When he didn't move to shake his hand, Pasha pulled away from him and shoved his hands into his ratty jean pockets, while kicking the ground and stuttering.

"Ah, um, I was sent to drop off the photos and I... ah…I happened to catch wind of…of the…fever, ambulance mess. I can leave now."

Elliot released Maureen and shook Pasha's hand. "Elliot Stabler. Sorry, I thought you were someone else. Thank you, for helping out."

Down the hallway Olivia and a rolling bed could be seen headed for another room.

Elliot glanced away from Pasha and started for Olivia and his daughter. "Pasha, nice meeting you. Tell your father I said hi. Maureen, hang tight."

SCENE

Ella lay in a lifted hospital bed. She was hooked up to heart monitors and IV's. Olivia stood next to the bed lightly touching her head and brushing her sweaty hair to the side. Elliot sat on the other side of the bed and held her little hand.

Neither one of them could speak. Every so often they'd look into each others eye's and try to soothe the others terrible thoughts in silence.

The doctor could be heard laughing in the hallway and all Olivia could think of was that he'd forgotten about them.

Finally, he entered their room. "Ella Stabler," he mumbled as he walked in searching through her charts. "Hi, I'm Dr. Pratt."

Elliot stood up in anticipation. "What's the prognosis?"

"Well, we've gotten the test results back, so far everything looks good. Her heart is strong, her vitals are back, and in a few hours she'll be fully hydrated."

"I'm waiting for the but," Olivia added.

Dr. Pratt softly smiled. "Your daughter has had, what you call a feribril seizure, caused by a high fever. What this means, is that she is going to be fine."

Elliot reached over and squeezed Olivia's hand.

The doctor scribbled on a prescription pad, while continuing. "She does have a bit of an infection, which gave her the fever, so I'm going to give you some anti-biotic. When the IV is complete you can take her home. Keep her hydrated. Also, one thing that you will need to be mindful of is epilepsy. We didn't find any patterns of that in her brain scan and it's very normal for a child to have this type of seizure when feverish, but if it even happens again, you'll have to have her tested immediately."

Olivia nodded and watched her little angle sleep.

Dr. Pratt handed Elliot the prescription papers and said his goodbyes before leaving.

Elliot sighed back into his chair and held his head.

"I suppose I'll have to take a few days off," Olivia said almost inaudibly.

"Baby, you can't."

"What do you mean I can't?"

Elliot looked at her. "You know Cragen needs you on this case."

"And my daughter needs me at home."

"Liv, don't start, you knew that you would be potentially sacrificing family time by taking your job back. Ella will be fine with Maureen."

Olivia angrily looked away and rolled her eyes.

"What was that?"

"What," she said.

"That face you just made."

"It was nothing. I just don't understand why you guys can't handle this case without me. You've done it before."

"Olivia, that's not the point! You have responsibilities and being on a high profile case is one of them."

"Oh please, Elliot, you wasted at least two hours of phone time today goofing around with wades of paper and erasers. Don't even give me that. If you did half the amount of work that I did today there would be no problem with me taking a few days off."

Elliot was furious that she would even start this fight in the hospital. He pushed his chair to the side and pulled her away from Ella's bed. "What's wrong with Maureen staying home with her?"

"Elliot, Maureen is not her mother and she's obviously incapable of keeping an eye on certain things."

"Oh, I see what this is all about," Elliot said as he walked away from her and then back to look her in the eye. "Liv, this could have happened to anyone of us. You will not blame Maureen for any of this."

"Come on, Elliot, she is so busy preparing for her dates and her all night dance parties that she didn't even recognize that Ella had a fever until it was too late."

"You don't know that."

"Well why didn't she call me if she knew earlier?"

"I…because-," Elliot knew she was right. Maureen was being especially immature and irresponsible recently. Yesterday he came home and found Benson playing with a steak knife and an empty burned pot on the stove. When he asked her about it she said she was on the phone and forgot about the water boiling.

"Ok, you have a small point, but that doesn't mean we can't find somebody who can handle the job."

"Like who," Olivia snipped.

Elliot thought about it for a moment and grabbed his cell. "My mom."

"Really? No, we can't."

Olivia barely saw the old crabby battle-ax. She kept to herself and she was hard as nails. Elliot hardly ever spoke to her or even about her. She was the classic Irish grandma: bitter, lonely, angry, and happy living that way.

When she first met the old woman her beady eyes took one look at Olivia's face and said ", At least this one doesn't have a shrill voice. That woman was as annoying as a room full of horny cats."

Olivia wasn't sure if that was a compliment to her or not, but after dinner she gave Olivia a picture of Elliot as a young man and laughed about how he used to be a good looking man.

Olivia could appreciate a sarcastic burn and she used the small amount of black male given to her that day when her own set of digs went dry.

Elliot said that she must have struck some sort of chord, because the old woman never laughed as much as she did with Olivia.

"My mom, would do anything for you."

"When did that happen?"

"Oh you sent her a birthday card. She's been talking about it ever since. I'll have you know the rest of the family is outraged by your gesture. We'll never live it down."

"Well, Elliot, she's your mother, that's what you do on your mother's birthday. You buy her a card and you call her."

Elliot shrugged. "Ah, we just never did that. Shall I call her or not?"

Olivia paused in thought. She took a look at her little girl and then back to Elliot. "I suppose, but only if you think she's not going to make a big deal about it. I don't want to inconvenience her or make her hate me or you or Ella."

Elliot dialed the number and shook his head at Olivia. "Liv, my mother has two emotions angry and mad, she's going to hate you regardless."

SCENE

"You got a cigarette," Maureen asked.

"Naw, I don't smoke," Pasha shrugged.

"Neither do I, I just thought that now would be a good time to start."

Pasha laughed and held open the hospital door for her.

"Thank you."

"You need a ride," he asked.

Maureen's hair blew wildly in the New York wind. The light from inside barely touched her face as Benson slept soundly in her arms. She starred at Pasha and blushed a little. "No, I should wait."

"Ok."

They stood in awkward silence for a moment. Pasha couldn't help but stare at her and look away when she caught him. "I'm gonna go then, I guess."

"Yeah, Ok."

"Goodbye then?"

Maureen wasn't sure what to think of Pasha. He was a strange guy. She was grateful that he showed up when he did, but now his presence was starting weird her out. "Goodbye," she said almost annoyed, but slightly interested and loving the attention.

He waved and tried to think of something clever to say. "Maybe next time you can fix my fever."

She scrunched her face in confusion. "Right."

"_Dole, Pasha, you're a dumbass,_" he thought to himself then added a ", Yeah, take it easy."

She smiled brilliantly in the moonlight. "Take it easy Pasha Schumann."


	3. Candid

**AN: I don't have anything interesting to say, but the few of you that have taken the journey this far are AWESOME! And I love your feedback and I love that you are giving me something to write about. I'm totally addicted to writing this story. Hope you enjoy! **

**Candid **

Ella was an easy going one and half year old. Even with a bad cold, a runny nose, and two teaspoons of strong medication she sat peacefully in her play chair as her over-active nephew, Benson, ran a Fisher Price stethoscope over her little arms and face.

"El, feel better. You need medsin."

Benson dropped the stethoscope and searched for what he thought was medicine.

Olivia raced around the apartment putting everything she could think of in a conglomerate of bags to take to grandma Jo's house, when she caught Benson trying to jam cheerio's into Ella's lips. "Ben, honey, no, no, no."

He looked up at her with big blue eyes and screamed ", mine!"

Ella looked up at Olivia and almost started to cry. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't like the tension that all of the sudden invaded her happy bubble. "Benson Stabler, what did I say about screaming?"

His little bottom lip started to shudder and his eyes started to swell. Olivia took a beat and sat on the floor next to him before the wrath of tears and crying fell from his two-year-old face. "Benson, sweetheart, were you making Ella feel better?"

"Medsin," he sobbed.

"That's very sweet of you. You're a good doctor, buddy. You know what else makes Ella feel better?"

"Medsin."

She smiled at his quivering face. "Kisses. Come here and give me a kiss."

Ben stubbornly sat on the floor in a huff.

"Come here," Olivia smiled. She pulled him towards her and tickled him on the stomach.

He started to giggle and she kissed him several times on the cheek while laughing. "Give Memah a kiss, big guy."

He grabbed her cheeks and forced his wet lips into her face.

Olivia got a mouth full of slobber. "Oh, I feel so much better. You have the best kisses."

He started to laugh and she lifted him in the air and raspberried his tummy. In a fit of harmonious hysterics he wiggled out of her arms and rolled to the floor in a ball of laughter.

Even Ella smiled. Olivia handed Benson his bowl of dry cheerios and stood up to finish her last minute preparations. "No Cheerios for Ella. Cheerios are for big boys. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Good, now, eat your breakfast buddy."

Checking her watch she ran to her bedroom and clipped her badge and gun to her belt, gave her freshly made up face one more final look in her vanity mirror, and headed for the bathroom to grab Ella's thermometer.

Elizabeth was in the bathroom mirror fixing her hair and singing songs from the musical she was rehearsing for without a care in the world. "It's priest. Have a little priest.

Sir, it's too good, at least!

Then again, they don't commit sins of the flesh,

So it's pretty fresh."

Olivia opened the medicine cabinet door and added in time and off key ", awful lot of fat."

"Only where it sat," Elizabeth laughed and asked in a thick cockney accent ", have I been practicing too much?"

Olivia searched the cabinet and grinned. "Oh Bethie, Sweeney Todd is my favorite musical. I could listen to you sing it day in and day out it and it wouldn't bother me none. But we are going to be late, so sing fast Angela Lansbury, the bus is leaving in five minutes."

"I thought Dad was taking me to school?"

"He was called in last night, so you're stuck with me."

Elizabeth nodded and airily dawdled her way to the kitchen for some pop tarts. "So try some priest."

Maureen sat on the couch in her pajamas watching the today show. "Liv, look at Ben."

Olivia stood in the middle of the kitchen and the living room going over her mental checklist. "Diapers, bottles, medicine….hmm?"

She stopped and looked at Ben and Ella. Ben was kissing Ella over and over again. "Better El. Kisses make better. Kisses? Kisses."

Ella wiggled her head back and forth trying to avoid the drool and the forceful lip smacks.

"That's cute," Olivia said in a hurry. "Ok, Bethie, you ready?"

Maureen turned the television down. "Liv, I told you I could watch Ella. It really isn't a problem."

"I know, but you need to find a job. I can't burden you with two babies, "Olivia said, trying to avoid an awkward conversation. She bent down and lifted Ella from Benson's grip.

"It's the least I could do. I already feel bad that I can't give you guys rent money."

"Maur, you do too much as it is. Don't worry about it. You need to take care of yourself and your son."

"I hope it's not because of last night."

With four bags, a briefcase and a baby, Olivia quickly dodged the topic and headed out of the door with Elizabeth lagging behind her. "The classifieds are on the table. I'll see you later. Bye bye Benson."

"Me too," he cried running for the door.

Maureen grabbed him and he screamed bloody murder.

They could hear him screaming from the streets and Olivia cringed at the sound.

She really needed Maureen to step up or move out. Not only was she starting to get too comfortable living on their paychecks, but also her son was becoming harder and harder to handle.

Normally, Olivia would let Elliot take care of it, but if he didn't have the talk soon, she was going to do it for him.

SCENE

"Whoa! You people are sickos! I may have done some stupid shit, but I would NEVER molest my child," yelled Donald McClure from the interrogation room.

Olivia walked into the room as Elliot threw a stack of pictures in front of him. "So tell me how that happened then?"

"I…" Donald dry heaved and pushed the photos away. Weakly he held his head in his hands. "Look, I admit that I hit her a few times. I did, but I would never do that to my little girl and I didn't kill her. Please, you have to believe me. Please."

Olivia sat next to him and watched his pitiful eyes leak like a sieve. "Donald, if you didn't do it then why did you run?"

"Because you were already blaming me for it. My own wife believed the lies, but I didn't lay a hand on her. I've been going to therapy. I haven't even been alone with her since the last time you interrogated me. I swear to you."

Elliot was running on no sleep and he was tired of the act. His eyebrows moved over his face taking over the blue that used to be his pupil and he leaned into Donald's pathetic face. "You're swear doesn't me shit to me McClure. Only a guilty man runs."

Olivia touched his arm to calm him down and he backed off. "Donald, you have no alibi, the knife found on site had your finger prints on it, and then you ran and hid for two days. It's not looking good for you right now. If you know something we don't you better cough it up."

"My wife. I slept beside her all night long. She's my alibi."

"Your wife was on Ambion, Donald. You could have left at any given point in the night and she wouldn't have known."

"I…I don't know. I just know that I didn't do it."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment and Elliot threw a cell phone at him. "Then you better call a lawyer."

Olivia and Elliot left him alone in the room and commenced with the unit behind the glass.

"I don't know why, but I believe him, " Olivia said.

"No, there's no way," Elliot said. "He punched a five year old. It was bound to happen. He's a damn good liar."

George Huang stepped between them. "I'm going to have to agree with Liv at the moment. He's too scared to be guilty. Did you see how he reacted to those photos? And just because he has anger management issues doesn't mean he's a sex offender. Have you questioned the other men in the girl's life?"

"Yes," Fin said. "I got nothing. Not even an odd vibe."

"How about the lab results," Olivia asked. "Could Melinda have missed something?"

Munch twiddled his lip and replied ", she's still going over minor details, but the base areas have been covered."

"How about a break in," Casey asked.

Fin tossed her a file. "CSU found nothing. No struggle, no prints, no hairs. If someone did break into that house, they had a key, and they were really good at covering their mark."

Casey sighed. "Well, unless you guys have more than those finger prints I can't keep him."

"What? Why not," Elliot snapped.

"The prints were lifted from the handle not the blood. Which means that for all we know he used it to make dinner."

Elliot angrily rubbed his eyes.

"Elliot, go get a few winks," Cragen hounded. "Liv, you go to Warner's and get her to move faster on the lab results. Fin and Munch keep McClure some company. Get every detail about his life and Shyann's."

Elliot pushed himself away from the group and staggered to the crib.

"El, you ok," Olivia asked as she followed him.

"Fine. I'm just tired."

He slowly walked past Munch's desk and saw the New York Times. Shyann's smiling face starred up at him.

"It's not your fault," Olivia whispered.

He lifted a brow in forced agreement and walked away from her.

Olivia let him go. She knew him well enough to know that he needed some time to think it all out and get some rest.

As she gathered her things to leave for the forensics lab her cell phone rang. "Benson."

"Olivia, hi, it's Rick. Rick Schumann"

"Oh, hi! How are you?"

"Good, my son told me about yesterday. Sorry to hear that. Is she ok?"

"She's fine. It was a minor scare. Rick, I saw the photos they are amazing."

"Gosh, thanks. It's easy to shoot good photos when the people you're shooting are so easy on the eye. Hey, speaking of those pictures. I was flipping through them and one of my clients saw your Ella."

Olivia grew tense. "Yeah."

"They want to know if you'd be interested in some print ad work. I mean, if Ella would be interested."

"Ohh, I don't know. What would it involve? And for who?"

"It's for a baby food company. You may have heard of them, Gerber. They are in love with your daughter. Listen, there are a ton of details. Why don't you and the family come over for dinner and we'll talk about it. No pressure. If you don't want to do it I completely understand."

Olivia held her head and glanced at the newspaper. She hated the idea of exploiting children before they were able to decide on their own. Her hesitation grew long.

"Olivia?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I think we can do dinner, but I'm not convinced on the print ad thing. We'll talk about it, but don't get your hopes up."

Rick laughed. "You're a protective mother. I like that about you. It's a challenge."

"Huh. Thanks. I think. I'll call you when I figure out what day works best for us."

"Great. Later Detective."

Olivia closed the phone and walked in deep thought for the elevators.

**AN: I love Sweeney TODD!!! That's my random thought for the day. And I can't wait for Johnny Dep to do that movie. AND for those of you counting ----- three and half days to Potter Reading!!!!! AHHHH- I'm excited and sad. I don't want it to end. Booooo! Ok enough. R&R **


	4. Jo

**AN: Dudes and Duddettes (Yeah I just typed that) Hope I didn't lose you on this story but----I have been completely taken over by Harry Potter world for like five days straight. As an actor I was hired to be Tonks at like three huge Harry Potter events around the City. it was wicked fun! This whole thing has been like a weird holiday that I'm getting paid for. It's so freak'n awesome! AND THEN I locked myself in the house for two days and finished the book! AHHHHH! I will say now more! It's so freak'n good- that's it ---ah- ack arg--I won't say another word. So this chapter is dedicated to Harry Potter and all of the people who love it! You don't have to have read Harry Potter to read or enjoy this chapter, but it has some HP references in it. Peace Out Potter Fools!**

**Jo**

"You're late."

Olivia held a forced smile to her face as her purse slid haphazardly from her shoulder. "Yes, I know traffic was worse than I'd expected. Some kind of festival or celebration is happening downtown. I apologize."

Elliot's mother bore a hole through Olivia's eyes and neatly placed her knitting to the side.

The six o'clock news blared loudly in the background and the old woman turned her head and watched the television over her half moon spectacles. "I was brought up in a strict military home as did my children. Tardiness and late arrivals are unacceptable."

"Yes, Josephine, I am-"

"It's Jo," seethed the old woman.

"Jo. Sorry, I'm usually a very precise person when it comes to being on time, but occasionally this will happen."

Ella bounced on her hands and knees in the middle of the room smiling and garbling noises at her irritated mother.

"Mmmum. Mum. Mum. Mmmm."

Olivia smiled and bent over to pick her up. "Was she any trouble?"

"No."

Olivia lifted her off the ground and kissed her daughter's soft cheeks.

For a brief moment the two women looked at the television.

A crowd of people dressed as wizards and adorning black glasses cheered wildly next to a Border's Book store in Time Square.

Colleen Kindall, Channel five's perky leading anchorwoman, brightly spoke to the camera with all kinds of useless information ", Harry Potter is taking over New York City. With only six hours to mid-night the end is near. What will JK Rowling throw at us next? Do you think Harry Potter will live or die?"

An obnoxious teenage boy jumped in front of the camera and yelled in a dark sinister voice. "He's going down Potheads! Voldy rules! YEEEAHHHHHHH! Muggles!"

Colleen looked at the camera with a forced smile and frightened giggles. "As you can see not everyone enjoys happy endings. Bill, back to you."

"Oh my," Olivia sighed. "On that note, I've got to fly out of here, Grandma Jo."

SCENE

"Kathleen, you are becoming a hermit. Put down the book and come out with Travis and I," Maureen squawked.

"Just because I don't got to a party every night of the week like you, doesn't constitute me as a hermit."

Maureen pulled a pink can that resembled hairspray from a plastic CVS shopping bag and popped open the lid. "I do not party every night of the week. And when did you get to be so anti-social. You haven't left the house in months."

Kathleen twitched and pulled her book back up to her face. "That's not true."

The pink can made a loud clicking noise as Maureen shook it and began spraying her blonde hair pink.

"What are you doing," Kathleen choked as the fumes hit her in the face.

"I'm dressing up. Hello, we're going to the Harry Potter book opening."

"And that gives you an excuse to die your hair pink? I didn't realize Harry Potter was the new Halloween."

Maureen rolled her eyes. "I'm going as Tonks. Look, Kathleen, come with us. I miss hanging out with you. And I bought you a red and yellow Gryffindor tie. You can go as Hermione or something."

Before Kathleen could reject her sister one more time the door buzzer rang loudly. Elizabeth yelled from the bedroom. "I got it! I got it!"

She skipped to the intercom and pressed the button. "I'll be down in two minutes."

Elizabeth was dressed in an official Hogwarts uniform with red converse sneakers and big plastic radishes hanging from her ears.

"Where are you off to," Maureen questioned.

"Down town with Rachael and Sara. I'm spending the night."

"And you have permission to do this?"

Elizabeth cocked her head with attitude and grabbed her bag with a flick of her hair. "Of course. I'm not a twit like you, Maureen. Daddy trusts me."

Kathleen chortled a bit and smiled at Elizabeth. "Bethie, who are you?"

"Kathleen, get with it. Luna Lovegood," Elizabeth gasped with an airy tone added to her voice.

She glided over to the front door and whisked herself into the hallway.

"Be safe," Maureen called out to her.

Elizabeth blew them a kiss and in her best Luna Lovegood voice she bid them a safe farewell ", have no fear sisters, I have an extra Crumple-Horned Snorkack just in case the Numbles get me."

And with that she was gone.

"Actors," Maureen sighed. "Kathleen, you're coming."

She threw the tie and the black robe at Kathleen and headed for the bathroom.

"Maureen, I'm not going. I am not in the mood to be in a bar and I am not going to be your third wheel."

Maureen stopped in her tracks and grinned evilly at her sister. "Oh, I see. You don't want to come, because you don't have a date."

"No, that's really not why."

"We need to find you a date."

"No, I don't want-"

"Hauh! I got it," Maureen jumped. "I have the perfect guy for you."

"Stop."

"No, he's an absolute gentlemen. You will love him. And- oh it's just perfect."

SCENE

When Maureen called Pasha to go to the Harry Potter extravaganza in Time Square he didn't realize that she'd be accompanied by her baby daddy and her grumpy yet sweet sister.

The four of them sat in a crowded bar sipping alcoholic butter beers and talking about the wonders that are Harry Potter.

"Pasha, you have to wear the glasses, " Maureen cried as she grabbed the plastic glasses from the bar and pushed them onto his face.

"Really? And why do I have to do that?"

"Because you didn't dress up and people are starting to think you're just some random local who got stuck in the Harry Potter bar."

Maureen giggled and touched his arm. His whole body tingled at the warmth of her hand.

"Look everybody, it's the real Harry Potter," she yelled.

Pasha watched her stumble and took the Butter Beer from her hand. "Whoa, calm down witchy."

Travis shot Pasha a nasty glare and took Maureen to the side. He hadn't said a word all night, but Kathleen could tell that he was starting to get embarrassed by Maureen's drunken outbursts.

The estranged couple walked away from Kathleen and Pasha. Kathleen watched them get swallowed into the crowd and awkwardly smiled at her blind date.

"So have you even read a Harry Potter book?"

"Honestly, no."

"They're actually really good books, but I never thought they'd get this out of control."

Pasha rubbed his thumb on Maureen's glass. "I'm sure they are. My ex bought me the first three and I never got a chance to pick them up. Mostly because I haven't the time, and partially because the sight of it reminds me of a relationship I'd rather not be reminded of."

"Huh, I can understand that."

"I'll get around to reading it one of these days."

"Yeah."

The pause in their conversation was maddening. Kathleen didn't know what to say. Finally Pasha stood up. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

So there she sat. Left at the bar to fend for herself.

The crowd of people made her nervous. Every nudge or abrupt fit of laughter caused her to turn and fidget. She hated that she had allowed a fear to well up inside of her for so long.

The fear she never thought would happen to her had forced itself into her life.

She kept it a secret but it was a secret that she wished she'd only imagined.

And the longer she kept it a secret the blacker its' memory became. It was like a monster eating at her insides.

She looked at the people at the bar to forget about the images.

The incident she so desperately tried to ignore washed over her mind like a dark curtain.

The crowded room turned into bright white walls that flooded her thoughts.

The smell of bleach and old linens reentered themselves into her senses like they'd been sitting in front of her the whole time.

She twisted her head and held her gaze to the TV in the corner of the bar. The images flashed by soundlessly. She could hear him breathing.

She tried everything she could to stop the feeling of violation and pain vibrating through her body.

The tingling rotten feeling in her stomach made her shake and sweat.

Without a second thought she stood up to leave and a drunken man pushed into her. His beer spilled down her white shirt. "Oh sorry, sweetheart, I didn't see you there."

He reached out to hand her a napkin, and Kathleen uncontrollably screamed ", NO! Stop it!"

The woman sitting next to Kathleen turned to see what was happening. "You ok?"

The man touched Kathleen's arm. "Hey, I said I was sorry. Don't get all bent out of shape."

The touch of him and the stink of his breath caused her to dry heave and she raced for the door pushing past the Harry Potter look-a-likes and the bar sluts dressed like Hogwarts school girls.

Kathleen got to the street and the three butter beers in her stomach met the pavement.

"Oooww," cried a very effeminate man dressed as Severus Snape. "Somebody just Expelliarmused more than she bargained for. I'm gonna ridiculous myself to the next bar."

The Dark Arts bookworm sniveled away with a group of his greasy sniggering friends.

Kathleen held onto the brick wall and started to sob.

She heard the bar door open again and the middle-aged woman who sat next to her at the bar lightly touched her shoulder.

"Are you alright," she asked in a British accent.

Kathleen jumped a bit and then nodded.

The woman stood next to her in one of the best costumes Kathleen had every seen. The robe was impeccable. Black and gold with a Hogwarts monogram etched over the pocket.

"Did that man hurt you?"

"No. No, it was an accident. I'm just…Aho"

Kathleen vomited again. This time it splashed up and hit the end of the woman's robe.

"Oh, oh no. I'm so sorry. I need to go home."

"It's quite all right darling. Are you with someone?"

"My sister."

"I'll go get her."

Kathleen stopped the woman before she could go back inside. "No, it's ok. I'm gonna go home alone. She's busy."

"You didn't drive did you?"

"No, I took the bus. I'll be fine. Thank you."

The woman checked her watch and looked down the street. "I can't let you take the bus. You look like you just saw the Dark Lord himself. Hang on."

Quickly she pushed through her purse and pulled out a cell phone. "Albert, I need you to take- what is you're name dear?"

"Kathleen."

"Oh," the woman smiled. "That was my grandmother's name. Albert, my friend Kathleen needs to be driven home. Yes, Albert, I'm familiar with time. It will be quite all right. I'm sure the party can start when I get there."

Kathleen looked around and saw a black limo headed towards them.

"Oh, ma'm, I can't. No, you're going to be late for a party. I am capable of taking public transportation."

"No, I insist," snipped the woman.

A small old man parked the limo and opened the door for Kathleen.

As the pushy British witch forced Kathleen into the limo Maureen fumbled from the bar hanging around Pasha's neck. "Kathleen, where are you f-ing going?"

The British woman smiled at Maureen. "Your sister is feeling under the weather. I'm having my driver take her home."

"And who-re- you?"

She held out her hand. "Jo. You can call me Jo. It appears as though you may need to call it a night yourself."

"Right. Kathleen, you do what you want, but when I come home with JK Rowling's signature on my freshly printed…hiccup…hod from the prezz...book, I don't want to hear one peep from your ….hiccup….face," Maureen hiccupped one more time and pushed Pasha out of the way as she grabbed Travis and walked away from them.

"I'll go with you," Pasha said and thanked Jo before helping Kathleen into the Limo.

Jo winked at Kathleen and bid them good night.

SCENE

Elliot was worn from the long day of searching and investigating. He pushed through the door to a quiet apartment. The television was blinking light throughout the living room as Olivia softly snored on the couch.

Fin and Elliot had worked well past their usual hours and still hadn't found anything on the Shyann case.

The press was starting to blame CSU's lack of evidence on them, and Cragen was getting antsy for new leads.

Finally, he saw that the three of them where running in circles and becoming internally crabby, so he sent them home.

Elliot ripped off his coat and his shirt and snuggled up next to Olivia on the couch.

"Hey," she whispered through her sleeping vocal chords.

He kissed her forehead and pulled her body close to his. "Hey."

"Any good news," she asked.

"Nope."

"Bad news?"

"Nope."

They both looked at the television in a comatose state. Olivia ran her fingers up and down Elliot's chest.

Elliot's eyes were already shut and Olivia blinked in and out of sleep, when Kathleen reached the outside of the door.

Her keys jingled into the doorknob and she turned to thank Pasha for walking her upstairs.

"It's not a problem, Kathleen. We should hang out again sometime. You know, when there aren't a thousand people dressed in witch costumes."

She grinned.

Their conversation paused briefly and they could hear the television on the other side of the wall.

Kathleen knew it was her turn to make the next move, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. _"Ask for his number. Invite him in. Do something. You're such a lamazoid,_" she thought to herself.

Pasha shuffled about and backed up. "Well…I'm gonna-"

"I'd invite you in," Kathleen managed to get out ", but it sounds like my Dad and Liv have fallen asleep on the couch again."

Pasha lightly laughed. "They sleep on the couch?"

"They're odd muggles."

Pasha smiled. "Another time. Well, good night."

He lightly kissed her on the forehead and walked down the stairs.

Kathleen stood in the hallway for a moment trying to break the thoughts that belittled her every decision. Then with a shaky hand she twisted the knob and entered the living room.

Colleen Kindall's shining face made yet another appearance on the television screen as Kathleen quietly made her way to the kitchen for some water.

She could hear the annoying anchorwoman's voice from the surround sound speakers.

"Word on the street is, the author of the evening, JK Rowling, was spotted at the Dark Horse helping a girl out of a sticky situation. She than volunteered her limo and arrived at her book signing twenty minutes late."

Kathleen was in mid gulp when she choked on the water and headed for the living room.

"The fans weren't pleased, but it was a small price to pay for a heroic deed. Maybe her books aren't that far from fiction, ay Bill?!"

Almost unconsciously Olivia blinked open her eyes as Kathleen's image flickered on the screen.

"Kathleen," she mumbled.

Kathleen clicked off the television. "Yeah, it's me. I'm home."

Then without another thought Olivia's heavy eyes closed and the light of the television faded away like a magical dream.

Standing in darkness Kathleen slowly walked to her bedroom astonished at what she had just seen.

The woman's voice rang through her ears. "Jo. You can call me Jo."

Never in her right mind did she think that she would meet such a person and not have known. The nightmare that started off her evening was well forgotten for the moment and a new one took its' place.

"_I just vomited on JK Rowling."_

**AN: Ok people drop me some thoughts. And if you've read the HP book and you want to talk about it- feel free to drop me a line, because as of today I am the only one out of my friends who has finished the book, so I can't talk about it and it's driving me MAD! I'm a huge dork! yep- Huge! R&R  
**


	5. A Doll's House

**A Doll's House **

"No, absolutely not," Elliot shunned through a mouthful of toast.

He and Olivia had been racing around the apartment like headless chickens, while arguing and gathering as they weaved in and out of four teenager adults and two babies.

The roomy condo had all of the sudden felt claustrophobic in the rush of it all. Kathleen and Dickie sat at the breakfast table eating cereal, Elizabeth sang cheerfully in her bedroom as usual, Maureen was still in the bathroom, and Benson played with Ella loudly on the living room floor.

"El, you haven't even heard all of the details," Olivia protested as she pulled Elliot's tie around his neck and grabbed her shirt from a hanger that was placed on the hall closet door handle.

"I don't need to. And I can't believe you're defending this after the week we've just had. We're not exposing our child to the whole world to make a quick buck. Kathleen, can you make sure Ella's bag is ready."

Kathleen froze at the breakfast table. Her mouth was open and her spoon was ready to go in.

"Kathleen, never mind. I took care of it," Olivia answered.

She slowly closed her mouth and gave Dickie a lifted brow.

"Hey, that's why I live with Mom, " he mumbled.

"Elliot, we should at least go to dinner and see what Rick has to say. You know how I feel about children and show business, but one commercial couldn't hurt. Rick needs the job. The Shyann case has sunk their company. Not to mention the money could help pay for college."

With a sigh and a squint Elliot slapped their bedroom doorframe with his hand and leaned his forehead briefly on his knuckles. "Olivia, if there is one thing that a father can do for his child it is to pay for their education. I will not send our baby to work for the man before she even knows how to say my name."

In the hush of the moment they could hear Benson and Ella playing down the hall. Ella chattered unintelligible sounds noisily. Then after a large in-take of air she cried with jubilant conviction ", DAAAAh Da DAH DAH DAH."

Elliot turned to look at Olivia who stood shirtless in the hallway. They both pushed their way to the living room.

Ella was making her way around the coffee table for the second time as she smacked her hands on the top of it and yelled again. "Dah, Da, Dah, Dahd."

"That doesn't count," Elliot grumbled.

"We at least have to go to dinner. I've already made the plans."

"Well, I never agreed to those plans."

Elliot knelt next to Ella and lifted her above his head. "Daddy! Did you just say dah dah? Who's Ella's favorite? Is it Daddy? Say Daddy?"

Ella laughed and shoved her fist in her mouth. "Mumm ma mmmum."

Olivia was pissed that she had to even have this argument with him and now he was plainly ignoring her. He grinned at her from the floor as Ella drooled and made kissing sounds with her lips.

"Elliot, you're going to dinner with us tonight."

He looked up at her hot-tempered stance. Her skin was flushed with anger and he glanced at her chest.

She glared and forced her shirt on. "Elliot Stabler, don't even try to change the subject. There's no way out of it, so lose the mule."

He pulled himself off the ground and held Ella under his arm. "Liv, I will eat at Rick Schumann's house if that's what you want but I don't want to hear about his business deal."

"So don't. We were invited over as friends not business associates." Olivia's voice was growing louder.

"Huh, ok, if that's what you think."

"OOOOH, ok I'm done with you. You're being impossible. Olivia Stabler is officially ignoring you. And if you ever look at my tits in the middle of an argument again I will have you arrested."

"Ah, come on Olivia. You can't possible want this for our daughter."

Ben dropped his toys and struggled for attention. He ran for Olivia tugging at her pants. "Memah, uppy."

"Not now Ben. Maureen!"

Maureen burst from the bathroom door and stood in the hallway like she'd been hit by a truck. "What," she grumbled through half closed eyes and messy hair.

"Take care of your son."

"All right. Sheesh, no need to yell. I'm right here," she lightly whispered.

"Memah, uppy, "Ben whined.

Olivia lifted him and held him out for Maureen to take.

Ben started to scream as Maureen took him from Olivia.

"NOOOOOOO, I no want. Memaaaaah!"

He wiggled for Olivia to take him back.

"Shut up," Maureen yelled.

She grabbed his cheeks and shook him. He started hysterically screaming.

"Maureen, what are you doing," Olivia yelled.

"Hey," Elliot bellowed. "Give him here."

He grabbed Benson and took him to the corner. "No screaming. Look at me."

Benson sobbed and shook. He fought the screams but still made loud terrible outbursts through his short breaths.

"Benson, listen to your granddad. NO screaming. You stand in the corner for two minutes."

"No."

"NOW!" Elliot's eyes were on fire. The crease between his eyebrows was enough to scare the scream out of a psycho killer on death row.

Ben cowered to the corner crying and trembling.

Maureen held her head and tripped as she passed Olivia.

"Maureen, are you drunk?"

Olivia lifted her from the ground. She stank of booze and cigarettes.

"No."

"Maureen, you're drunk."

"I am not."

"How much did you drink last night?"

"What," she stumbled into the kitchen and ignored Olivia's interrogation. "I just had a few. It's a hang over. I'm…fine."

"Liv, she's fine. Get her some water and an aspirin."

"Elliot, you're missing the point. That's the fourth hangover this week. Maureen, you have a son to take care of. How do you expect to get a job when you're hung over?"

Maureen slammed the kitchen counter. "When are you gonna lay off me about getting a job. I will get a job when the right one is available!"

"Maureen, you can't find the right job if you never go to an interview!"

"Why do you care Olivia?! If you want rent money I'll get a part time job, but I thought the point of me living here was so that I could keep my schedule open for jobs in my field!"

"ahhuh, Elliot?"

Olivia looked over at him for support. He was eating the last of his breakfast at the table and feeding Ella at the same time. "Liv, she'll get a job. Don't worry about it. Ben, come here."

Ben had stopped crying and he toddled over to Maureen and wiped his face into her pajama pants.

Olivia was speechless. She'd never seen Elliot react this way.

He was completely ignoring the situation. As she watched Maureen push Benson away from her leg she couldn't help but think of her own childhood.

She lightly touched Maureen's arm. "Maureen, listen to me. You have to stop the late night partying. It's affecting Ben."

"Olivia, I don't drink that much. I just had a lot of birthdays to go to this week. And you need to back off of Ben."

"Liv, she's still young. Let her have a few fun moments for Christ sake."

Olivia was in shock. She watched Elliot's complete tolerance for his daughter's behavior and felt sick.

Again, Benson grabbed at his mother.

"Benson, come on. I'm trying to eat. Can't you play by yourself?" As she pushed him away his little hand knocked the glass of water from Maureen's grasp. The glass smashed across the room. "Oh Great now look what you've done? Kathleen, take him please."

Kathleen sighed and pulled Benson into the living room. Dickie pushed past the lot of them. "I'm outta here. Later."

Maureen searched for the broom and grew angry. "Where the f--Where's the broom?" She started to rip through the hallway closet.

All of the sudden Maureen became the monster Olivia ran from her whole life.

She could feel the swell of pain forming from the bad memories of her mother pushing her away and tearing apart the kitchen for an aspirin or the last swig of vodka in the hidden bottles she placed around the house.

The glass on the floor flickered to Olivia's past.

_**A ****porcelain doll lay in the middle of a brown and yellow linoleum floor where her mother had thrown it after Olivia spilt the last of her wine on the white carpeting.**_

"Why can't any of you put things away," Muareen yelled.

_"**That's what you get for not listening. I told you I was busy."**_

The voice was loud in Olivia's ear.

Maureen found the broom next to the refridgerator and Benson called her from the living room.

"Mama, I fix it."

"Not now! I'm busy! You need to listen to me, Benson!"

**_Benson...Benson...Benson._**.. rang through Olivia's thoughts. **"**_**Can't you see that I can't pay attention to you every hour of the day!"**_

_**The little girl sat in the corner of the kitchen sobbing and clutching a piece of her doll's hair. Her brown eyes where hidden under her long unkempt hair**._

_"_Maureen, calm down would yeah. It's just a glass," Elliot said before downing his Orange Juice.  
_  
_Olivia stood in a daze next to the island counter in their kitchen. Her mother's voice was drowning out the life going on around her._ **"You're a slob of a girl. Look at you. You going to cry about it? Go ahead Olivia cry! Cry! Nobody cares if you cry! You think I'm gonna feel sorry for you? Get out of my face."**  
_  
Elliot glanced at her. "You ok?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she was the only one in the room who seemed to be upset by Maureen's behavior. She felt completely alone. They had all resumed their daily business like nothing had just happened. Elliot was a stranger to her as she stood there watching him eat and smile at their daughter.

"I'm gonna head out."

It was the first time she'd left the house without kissing anyone good-bye. She grabbed her keys and closed the door behind her.

It was a silence that Elliot had never felt from her before. He wiped Ella's mouth and walked over to the window. He could see Olivia walking to the bus stop. Her face remained stone still and unusually sullen.

**AN: AH god! That was rough for me to write. Way too close to home for me. AH! So on another note, has anyone ever seen or read "A Doll's House"? I'm sure nobody will get this reference but it's some good classic stuff. There's a modern version of it written by some gal's in Chicago and it's even better. But yeah- you can't go wrong with the door slam heard round the world. It was basically the first play written during it's time where the woman walked out on her family and her husband. Nora was the first woman in that generation of entertainment to stick up for women's rights and say "That's it. I'm out." And it ends with her closing the door. She doesn't even say good bye to her children. She just leaves forever. It's one of the most memorable heart wrenching classic references in theater. Anyway, this door slam is a bit different. It has nothing to do with Olivia leaving Elliot, but I wanted it to signify change.**


	6. Bottom of the Bottle

**AN: Jenny Owen Youngs "Drinking Song" is the song fic. **

**Bottom of the Bottle **

Elliot dumped his jacket over the mound of paper on his desk and pushed past Cragen.

"Where's Liv?"

"She's with a witness."

Cragen didn't get a chance to finish. Elliot had already forced himself down the hallway.

**FLASH to Maureen**

She sits alone in the middle of the living room couch with the phone to her ear. "Travis? Who is this? Katie who? "Click.

She looks at the phone and listens to the consuming dial tone.

**FLASH to Elliot**

"Liv!"

Olivia was just opening the door to enter the interrogation room.

"Working," was all she said before closing the door in his face.

**FLASH to Maureen**

_**Everything I touch turns to shit**_

_**Everyone I try to love won't hear of it**_

_**Now my hands are overfull of things I'd like to give**_

_**Does anybody want it?**_

_**Does anybody want it**_?

She reaches for the half empty bottle of Jim Beam.

_**Does anybody want me?**_

**FLASH to Elliot**

He pulled away from the door to find himself face to face with John Munch.

"Lover's quarrel?"

"Give me that," Elliot snapped as he pulled the file from John's hand and angrily entered the room.

Olivia was sitting in front of a woman who looked homeless and smelled of sour body odor.

"Margaret, tell me again-"

"What happened," Elliot interrupted.

**FLASH to Maureen**

_**I've been mapping it out**_

She takes the first swig of liquor and curls up on the couch hugging the bottle.

_**I don't know what's wrong with me **_

_**But I wish that it was something else**_

Benson sits in front of her on the floor watching Dora the Explorer. "Globo. Que Colour?"

The cell phone vibrates on the coffee table. Travis' name appears on the screen.

_**I've been mapping it out**_

_**Maybe you should find a girl who cares about herself.**_

She holds the phone in her shaky hand and throws it at the wall.

**FLASH to Elliot**

He dropped the files on the table and stood in a towering position before Olivia and Margaret.

Both women starred at him in silence. Olivia's eyes were piercing.

Finally she stood from her chair and jestured towards the door. "Margaret, this is my partner, Elliot Stabler. He was just leaving."

Elliot took the open chair across from Olivia and sat down.

"Margaret is it?"

"Yes." Margaret was a nervous woman. She didn't have all of her wits about her, but she was sweet and harmless.

Elliot smiled and held out his hand for her to take. "It's nice to meet you, Margaret." She uncomfortably nodded and grabbed his handshake with a dirty scailey hand. " I'll be filling in for John."

"Elliot, don't do this," Olivia pleaded.

_**FLASH to Maureen**_

Benson's eyes fill with tears and he runs for the hallway closet.

_**It's silence at the bottom of a bottle**_

_**ba da da da da da Dat da da da**_

Maureen screams at the pieces of broken phone.

**FLASH to Elliot**

Without looking at Olivia, Elliot flipped through the file in front of him and started his questioning. "So it says here, you took a baby from the grocery store."

"I didn't steal it. The mother left her. She left her alone. The baby was alone. I didn't want it to be left alone."

"I know what that's like to be left. It's a sinking feeling isn't, Margaret? Being left without a kiss or a goodbye. Not knowing why or how it could have happened. "

Olivia placed a firm hand on the file in front of her and pulled it away from Elliot. Her face was red with anger.

**FLASH to Maureen**

She ignores Benson's cries and hysterically weeps to the floor. Through the tears she looks at the bottle of liquor and takes another drink.

_**It's silence at the bottom of a bottle**_

_**ba da da da da da**_

**FLASH to Elliot**

He held Olivia's retched gaze but spoke to the unbathed mess of a woman to his left. "Margaret, sometimes people do things out of the ordinary when they are under a lot of stress. Could the mother have been upset? Maybe angry or hurt?"

"The man wasn't listening. He wasn't watching, but I saw her. Upset, yes, definitely upset."

Olivia held back her tears and looked away from Elliot.

"No one was listening. But I heard."

**FLASH to Maureen**.

"Mommy?"

Benson watches Maureen from the closet.

She downs the rest of the Jim Beam and chocks to the floor.

_**I've been mapping it out**_

_**I don't know what's wrong with me **_

_**But I wish that it was something else**_

In a fuzzy haze Maureen closed her eyes and fell silent.

"Mama?"

**FLASH to Elliot**

"Sometimes people aren't always listening when they should be. What did I miss…He. Sorry. What did he miss?"

"Elliot, stop it," Olivia softly muttered.

"You can't leave people in the dark."

"Yes, the man was dark," Margaret excitedly cried.

"I'm not a mind reader."

Margaret grabbed Olivia's arm and sadly spoke of the unfit mother. "She was crying. She was too ashamed to do the right thing. You can't blame her. No. No blame, just hurt, confusion, disappointment. Lost."

Olivia looked at the woman's face like she'd just taken it in for the first time. Underneath the dirt was a wrinkled tired woman who'd aged much too soon. Her blues eyes were the same shape as her mothers. Her dark blonde hair the same shade. Even her sunken in cheeks from years of abuse and unhealthy living resembled Olivia's memories. Margaret smiled and the top of her nose crinkled under the grim.

In an edgy frame of mind Olivia closed her eyes to find the focus to move on.

Elliot placed a hand near Olivia's arm. "She'd have to be pretty hurt to cry."

"That's enough, Detective Stabler."

Olivia walked away from the table and tried to subtly wipe her eyes.

_**Everywhere I look, I see your face**_

_**No button I can push, delete, erase.**_

_**Can't keep things straight but for the emptiness**_

_**No one left for me to miss**_

**FLASH to Maureen**

"Benson? Baby, where are you?"

_**It's silence at the bottom of a bottle**_

_**ba da da da da da**_

She pulls her stiff body from the ground. The bottle lay empty in her hand.

**FLASH to Elliot**

"Margaret, tell me what happened when the woman started to cry."

"You will go home. It's not your problem. It's not a big deal. I will take care of it," Margaret yelled.

Elliot touched Margaret to calm her down. "Hey, are you ok? Do you need a break?"

"GO HOME! GO AWAY!"

"Margaret, we can stop. Do you need a break?"

Olivia turned to them. She held herself in a closed off manner. "She's telling you what the man said."

"Yes," Margaret beamed

Olivia knelt next to her. "Is that when the woman left?"

"He left and then she left. I left once too. A long long time ago."

Elliot leaned in. "Did the woman say why she was upset? Did she tell the man?"

Margaret was oblivious of the tension in the room. She told her thoughts and smiled. "He was busy. She needed help, but he couldn't. I helped her. I did a good job. I did."

Olivia smiled and a tear rolled down her face. "I'm sure she would be glad to know that you helped her. That you understood."

Elliot's eyes burned for Olivia to acknowledge him. "Liv, let me help you."

Her eyes never left Margaret's filthy smiling face and a knot swelled up in her chest.

**FLASH to Maureen**

The front door was open. She groggily walked into the hallway. Her world was spinning. Frantically she called out for her son. "Benson!"

_**I wonder if this is how I pay for the things I've broken carelessly **_

_**Nobody wants to step on it**_

"Benson, Mommy isn't angry at you."

**FLASH to Olivia**

Olivia walked away from the table. She couldn't bear to stand in the room any longer. Her emotions were too strong.

Elliot followed her to the hallway. "Olivia!"

"Elliot, leave me alone."

"Talk to me!"

"We're at work!"

"I can't work if you're going to ignore the bear in the room."

"Elliot, I am not your wife right now!"

He could hear her voice breaking. She held her face to the ground and headed for the bathroom.

The whole office stopped and looked at Elliot who stood flushed and frozen as the twenty or more questioning eyes starred at him.

"What!"

They all went back to work as he raced for the women's restroom.

**FLASH To Maureen**

She's crying and stumbling down the street.

"Benson!"

She grabs a man. "Have you seen a little boy? A little boy with blonde hair?"

The man walked away from her.

"Stop! PLEASE! My son is gone!"

When nobody stopped to help her she numbly walked back to the apartment.

_**I've been mapping it out**_

_**I don't know what's wrong with me **_

_**But I wish that it was something else**_

**FLASH to Olivia**

"Elliot, I can't talk to you right now."

"Liv, if you want to put Ella in the ad, we can try it. Just talk to me."

"No, Elliot. (sighs) You don't…huh…that's not why I'm, I can't."

Elliot leaned his head on the stall.

"Olivia, what's wrong? What did I say? Is it Maureen? Liv, I know she's been a little irresponsible. I was giving her a bit of a break, but maybe you're right. She'll get a job. I'll help her. She'll be moved out by before Christmas."

"You really don't get it."

"No, I don't, so could you please talk to me."

A couple of women entered the restroom giggling and loudly talking. "So I said to the guy, fuck you asshole."

"Ladies, I'm in the middle of something here. Could yeah give me a minute."

"Don't you have your own facility," bitched the tall blonde.

"GET OUT!"

They back stepped their way to the door and the short brunette looked at the tall blonde and rolled her eyes. "Talk about an ass hole."

"For real."

"Olivia, please open the door. I can't stand this."

She flushed the toilet and opened the stall. Her face was flushed and tears stained her cheeks and eyes.

**FLASH to Maureen**

"Pasha? Benson!"

Pasha held the little guy in his arms. "I think you lost something."

She kissed Ben over and over again. He winced at the smell on her breath. "Where was he?"

"He was sitting in the closet. I didn't mean to pry. You left the door open."

"Right." Maureen felt completely foolish. She quickly changed the subject. "Benson, don't ever hide from mommy like that again? You scared me."

He tenatively wrapped his little arms around Maureen's neck.

Pasha walked them back up to the apartment.

Maureen was glad to see him. He was the one thing left in her life that she hadn't completely screwed up. "What are you doing here?"

"I convinced Kathleen to leave the house. We're headed to an early flick."

"Oh. Well, she's not here yet."

"I noticed."

The three of them entered the apartment. The sound of Kathleen's name in the same sentence as his was enough to make her feel il all over again. Pasha glanced at the mess in the living room. Maureen quickly cleaned up the empty bottles and the smashed cell phone.

"Sorry, bout the mess."

"Are you ok?"

Maureen was shaking and nervously cleaning.

"Yeah."

"You don't need to clean for me. Really. Sit."

Pasha forced her to sit on the couch. She stared at his perfect face. He had soft brown eyes and Clark Kent features. She couldn't lose him. Before she could stop herself she pulled his face to hers and kissed him.

"Maureen, what are you doing?"

She pulled away from him embarrassed. "I didn't mean to. I just. I'm-"

"Having a bad day?"

In an unfocused monotone voice she sighed. "Travis has been cheating. For a while. And yeah, you could call it a bad day. Well I should go take a shower and clean up before Olivia gets home."

_**I've been mapping it out**_

_**Maybe you should find a girl who cares about herself. **_

"Maureen wait." Pasha tugged at her hand and before they could think about the situation any longer he pulled her lips to his and softly eased away the pain one gentle kiss at a time.

**FLASH to Olivia**

She stood in front of Elliot like a small child. It was a side of her he'd only seen glimpses of. The full state of the scared little girl inside of Olivia sat broken in the deep dark pit of her beautiful eyes.

After a moment of collective thoughts she took a deep breath and spoke the words as if they'd played in her mind on a loop.

"I've been thinking about my mother a lot recently. And she's a memory I sometimes have a hard time reliving. I don't want to see Maureen drunk or hung over in the presence of my child or hers ever again."

She pushed past him and turned on the cold water. The sound of the facet drowned out the dead silence in Elliot's heart. He watched her as she splashed her face with the water and realized what a fool he'd been. Gently he pulled his handkerchief from a back pocket and handed it to her. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Do you need to talk about…"

"No."

With that she left and he didn't have the nerve to bring it up again.

_**It's silence at the bottom of a bottle**_

_**ba da da da da da**_

_**Down here we've got so much time to forget**_

Olivia grabbed her keys and escorted Margaret towards the elevators.

_**I don't know what's wrong with me **_

_**But I wish that it was something else**_

**FLASH to Maureen and Pasha…gently making out.**

_**The problem will find them**_

_**Sooner or later **_

_**you have to hit something**_.

"Maureen?!"

Kathleen forced the front door closed and ran for the street.

**AN: I've been super busy so convince me to slack off and write more. I need some inspiration to get her done!!! Peace people! R&R**


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